Oct 14 – 15 – Last Minute Sightseeing and a flight to London

This morning’s pickup was at 10am so we had breakfast, did a bit of work, packed up and were ready to go. 

More touring.  We had a stop at the Tssarasaotra Bird Sanctuary.  The sanctuary is on the outskirts of Tana proper.  It is privately owned and operated for the preservation of bird habitat. 

It is a habitat for some endangered birds, none of which we saw.  But there were tons of White Faced Whistling ducks,

herons, 

and white egrets. 

During our walk around the lake we also saw water hyacinth...

and this vibrant purple giant salvia. 

We took a walk around the small lake and then it was off to an airport hotel for lunch, then on to the airport. 

We are taking Air Mauritius to Mauritius.  The hour and a half flight was uneventful and our business class seats were suitable for a long haul flight.  So, we were very comfortable. 

We had only a couple of hours in Mauritius at the airport only.  To bad, the TV screen at our seats ran a long video of places to see and things to do in Mauritius and it looks like a tropical paradise.  We were here on our Crystal World Cruise but had only a day…we need to come back.

Bureaucracy in Mauritius was formidable.  We went through customs and passport control and then through security…just for the privilege of going from one gate to another. 

Back on next plane and we were off for the 12+ hour flight to London.  The seats were comfortable and we both slept several hours. 

We arrived on time but we had no transfer to our hotel.  After some calls and pouring over our documents we discovered the problem.  Our flight left on the 14^th and we would be arriving early in the morning of the 14^th so Tara had booked a hotel room for the evening of the 14^th so that we could check in very early on the 15^th and not have to sit around the hotel lobby for hours waiting for check in time.  Unfortunately, the departure date and the hotel date resulted in Cunard booking us for pickup the morning of the 14^th, not the 15^th. 

We ended up taking a taxi to London and the hotel…since we landed in Gatwick the drive was long and the taxi ride expensive. 

And, once we got to our room at the hotel the room felt like an ice box.  And the heating didn’t work.  They had to get us a space heater for the room.  But eventually the room was comfortable.

We went to Gourmet Burger Kitchen a couple blocks away for our lunch of burgers, fries and shakes. 

Then it was to the room for some work and an early bedtime.  We skipped dinner.  Too tired and too full from lunch.